The Isolated Mountain of Skin and Bone

Chapter 1 (PART 3)

Now that I've gotten everything.. I'd say we're slightly good to go for the journey, but, then again.. my grandfather might get a little suspicious of the sudden disappearance of.. well, our coin. Well, when I explain everything to him, surely he won't mind it anymore. Just.. good thing this bag isn't too heavy, I'm not as strong as you think! Anyway, with supplies now being out of the question, there's now three things I could do. One, sneak around for more information, two, stay a little while longer in Athen, and three, return home to Pythagoras hopefully without him questioning the large-ish plastic bag. Wait.. now that I said number three, I've suddenly thought of something. Perhaps he was angry because all the loud noise in Athen were due to the quickly spread rumors? It is a possibility, after all. That means he could've heard of this supposed mountain, too, but he has told me himself that he didn't bother with it at all! Seriously?

Personally, I think that mountain would've given us several things. Adventure experience, survival experience, and possibly even combat experience if we are lucky enough. And the treasure might even make us a lot richer so we could finally repair and upgrade that tumbledown home. You know, grandfather never told me how old that house was, or how long ago it was first built, despite the fact he probably knows. Huh. With all these knowledge that we both contain in our minds, he sure keeps tons of secrets from me - that part I've certainly realized. Maybe during the journey or at the end of it, I could confront him about it. So far, the only major thing he's ever told me was the thing behind that staff that he always carried around. Now that I've said it.. don't you think he's being a little greedy? Living a little too long? Wait. What did I just spit out? Oh no, I've said the thing. I didn't mean to say the secret. I mean, it's not like anyone heard it, right? I'm being paranoid again. Just being paranoid, that's all. Come on, I'm Nikolaos, grandson of Pythagoras, the weirdest guy who somehow knows a lot of things yet is really grumpy most of the time. Nothing more. I can be a little weird sometimes too. Eh, now that I snapped out of it and looked around the area, I've just been spending way too long here standing around and screaming at myself in my head that the passersby might think I'm a little weird. I should probably just make the decision now and go somewhere. Actually, it has probably gotten a little late now. I've never even looked up at the sky just once after entering the city.. or town? Its actual term is really, really not important right now. I can just keep calling it anything later. The important part is that I've got to get home as fast as possible. NOW! I gripped the plastic bag tighter and sped-walked down the streets of Athen, looking for the way I entered.. and there it is! Such luck, isn't it? I ran through it with no care despite the alarmed reactions of the guards who were simply standing stationary (you think they'd be better at their job), who did nothing but watch me run and then return to dozing off again once I was a little too far for their lazy selves. Almost there, now. I can see the stables nearby, so my home isn't too far from my current position. Hopefully I don't get a rant from grandfather. Having been speed-walking for a while, I can see my home. Ah, my familiar, weird-looking, broken-down home. Yes, I used three whole adjectives. I don't see any problems with what I do. And, really, at the start of the day, I could've sworn this path was a lot shorter. Maybe it's because this time I was a little bit stressed out that it felt a little longer than usual? The human mind is a little difficult to understand, that's one thing I'll certainly know as a fact when it comes to the brain playing mind tricks on me. Ah, I'm tired.. I hate running long distances for periods of time that are like.. longer than 15 minutes! I'm not athletic, or energetic. I'm just me, Nikolaos. An odd kid that lives quite far from the cityfolk. Townfolk? Whatever.. I shouldn't dwell on the correct term to use on the people of Athen now. Me and my grandfather are quite poor, that's the thing that I'm just trying to get across to myself. I wonder if the children amongst the Athen folk were energetic, or athletic, or.. just like me.

Shoving those thoughts out of my mind, I stopped in front of my home to take a breather. I reached for the door and then open it carefully. I certainly took a long time whilst being outside, it looks like my grandfather is asleep. What a pity, I was certainly thinking of explaining tons of things to him. Maybe tomorrow, or even the day after tomorrow, or even the day after those days. Just.. hopefully somewhere during this week. Anyway, I went into my room and placed down the plastic bag in the corner. Or, at least as much as in the corner as I could, since this house isn't exactly perfect in shape.. you know what I mean. Anyone can know what I meant by that. Whatever, it's time to take a nice, long nap in my bed without a single care in the world! All my current troubles can just be worried about tomorrow in the morning, when I'm no longer tired and I'm fully energized for the day. Or, well, as much as I can be. The point is, worries are for tomorrow, since sleeping time is simply just sleeping time. You shouldn't be too worried while sleeping - that will affect your sleep in bad ways. That's something I've learned in my life. No, I'm not disclosing the specific method on how I learned it.